Abstract: A developing cartridge is provided. The developing cartridge includes a first frame and a second frame and a layer thickness regulating member. The first frame and the second frame include a first welding surface formed at a periphery of the developer accommodating part correspondingly to a developer accommodating part; and a second welding surface extending continuously from the first welding surface correspondingly to a roller support part. The first welding surface extends in a direction orthogonal to an overlapping direction of the first frame and the second frame. The second welding surface extends to be inclined toward a side of the first frame in the overlapping direction as extending toward the developing roller. The layer thickness regulating member is provided to cover the second welding surface from a side of the second frame in the overlapping direction.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developing member and a carrier collecting member. An outer surface of the developing member includes a plurality of protrusion portions aligned at regular intervals that are equal to or larger than an average particle diameter of toner particles and smaller than an average particle diameter of magnetic carrier particles. Each protrusion portion has a first face formed at one side of an apex of each protrusion portion and a second face formed at the other side of the apex, and an inclination angle of the first face is less than an inclination angle of the second face. In the circumferential direction of the developing member, when a downward direction of the first face is set to be positive, a relative velocity of a surface velocity of an image bearing member to a surface velocity of the developing member is set to be positive.

Abstract: A developing cartridge is provided. The developing cartridge includes a first frame and a second frame and a layer thickness regulating member. The first frame and the second frame include a first welding surface formed at a periphery of the developer accommodating part correspondingly to a developer accommodating part; and a second welding surface extending continuously from the first welding surface correspondingly to a roller support part. The first welding surface extends in a direction orthogonal to an overlapping direction of the first frame and the second frame. The second welding surface extends to be inclined toward a side of the first frame in the overlapping direction as extending toward the developing roller. The layer thickness regulating member is provided to cover the second welding surface from a side of the second frame in the overlapping direction.

Abstract: Provided is an image forming apparatus including an image holder that is provided to be rotatable, and a charging member that includes a charging member main body and a cover member, in which an outer circumferential surface of the cover member is disposed to be in contact with the image holder, and that charges the image holder, wherein a circumferential speed of one member of the rotating image holder and the rotating charging member main body is greater than a circumferential speed of the other member, and wherein the cover member moves to follow a movement of the one member at a contact portion where the cover member and the image holder come into contact with each other, and a portion of the cover member that is positioned on an upstream side of the contact portion is drawn toward a downstream side.

Abstract: A charging device includes a charging member including an endless cylindrical flexible base member and conductive contactors provided along an outer peripheral surface of the base member, the charging member being attracted to a charged member in a pressure applied state by electrostatic attraction force responsive to a charging voltage applied to the charging member or by the electrostatic attraction force and self-weight of the charging member, the charging member charging the charged member; and a voltage applying member that applies the charging voltage to the charging member.

Abstract: A developing cartridge includes: a casing; a developer carrier; and a receiving member. The casing includes a support portion. The receiving member receives a drive force from an external drive source to transmit the drive force to the developer carrier. The receiving member has a cylindrical configuration. The support portion rotatably supports the receiving member. The receiving member includes: a receiving portion; a transmission portion; and a fitting portion. The receiving portion has an outer edge in a radial direction of the receiving member. The transmission portion defines an outer circumferential edge of the receiving member. The fitting portion is positioned inward of the transmission portion in the radial direction and fitted with the support portion. The outer edge of the receiving portion is positioned inward of the transmission portion in the radial direction and outward of the fitting portion in the radial direction.

Abstract: An opening and closing portion is opened and closed. A switch is turned off when a voltage applied to a drive terminal is smaller than a first voltage and to be turned on when the voltage is greater than or equal to a second voltage. A drive unit generates a drive voltage. A first line applies the drive voltage to the switch. A second line is arranged such that at least a part thereof is near the first line. A voltage drop element provided on the first line drops a voltage applied from the second line through the first line to the drive terminal when the first line and the second line short-circuit in a state where the portion is open, to lower the voltage applied to the drive terminal to be smaller than the first voltage.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing unit configured to develop using toner an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive member, a mounting unit to which a container is mounted, the container including a containing unit configured to contain toner and a pump unit, and performing a supplying operation for supplying toner by expansion and contraction of the pump unit, a driving unit configured to rotationally drive the container to cause the container to perform the supplying operation, and a controller configured to control a rotational speed of the container based on a time for which the supplying operation has been performed.

Abstract: A heating element for the fuser for an electrophotographic imaging device. The heating element includes a panel of positive temperature coefficient material having electrodes coupled to opposed surfaces thereof. The positive temperature coefficient material serves to stabilize the temperature of the heating element so as to prevent damage due to overheating.

Abstract: The fixing apparatus is configured to include a fixing roller, a paper separation claw, a drive source that switches between a state in which the paper separation claw is in contact with the fixing roller and a state in which the paper separation claw is separated from the fixing roller, and a paper transport guide that is disposed on the downstream side of the fixing roller, the drive source including a heat generating element, and to further include a main ventilation channel that channels cooling air to a fixed paper sheet passing over the paper transport guide and a sub ventilation channel that is branched from the main ventilation channel and channels a portion of the cooling air to the heat generating element.

Abstract: A frame for an image forming apparatus, includes: first and second plate members; a bent portion provided as a part of the first plate member and bent along the second plate member; a portion-to-be-fixed provided as a part of the bent portion; a positioning portion, provided on the first plate member, for positioning the second plate member relative to the first plate member by being abutted vertically against the second plate member, wherein a free end projects toward the second plate member more than the portion-to-be-fixed; and a fixing portion, provided as a part of the second plate member, to which the portion-to-be-fixed is fixed. The second plate member is deformed to contact and deform the fixing portion to the portion-to-be-fixed while the second plate member is in contact to the positioning portion, so that the first plate member and the second member are fixed to each other.

Abstract: A heating roller includes: a core bar having a cylindrical shape; a rubber layer arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the core bar; and a release layer arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the rubber layer, wherein when thermally fixing a developer on a recording medium, the heating roller is heated to a temperature within a fixing temperature range including a minute particle-scattering start temperature at which minute particles start to scatter from the rubber layer. The heating roller is arranged inside a casing which is connected to a minute particle density measuring device; then the core bar of the heating roller inside the casing is heated to 230° C. by a heater; and when the density of the minute particles inside the casing is measured after elapse of 20 minutes since start of the heating, the density of the minute particles is less than 2,000 pieces/cm3.

Abstract: The present disclosure illustrates an image forming apparatus with structural connection function. The image forming apparatus can be applied to a business machine, to solve the problem of bad quality of image caused by shaking of a developing module. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the groove with the inclined angle is equal to the pressure angle of the gear to constrain the operation direction of the developing module, so as to prevent the developing module from shaking. The present disclosure just modifies the design of the guiding channel to constrain the developing module, so the cost of components can be reduced efficiently.

Abstract: Provided is an image forming apparatus including an image holder that is mounted at a predetermined mount position, a charging member that charges the image holder, a cleaning member that cleans the charging member, a holding member that holds the charging member and the cleaning member, includes a mount section on which the cleaning member is mounted, is urged toward the image holder side, and recedes when the image holder is mounted at the predetermined mount position, and a drop-out prevention section that is disposed at a position facing the mount section which is included in the holding member at a receding position and that prevents the cleaning member from dropping out from the mount section.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, having: a supply unit that forwards a sheet material; a rotor that feeds the sheet material; a memory unit that has stored therein a masking sound for noise; a derivation unit that derives a current position of the sheet material being fed; a determination unit that determines, on the basis of the current position derived by the derivation unit, whether or not the sheet material being fed has reached a second specified location at a predetermined distance upstream from the first specified location; a decision unit that decides output timing and/or output duration for the masking sound in the memory unit upon an affirmative determination by the determination unit; and a sound output unit that outputs the masking sound in the memory unit in accordance with the output timing and/or the output duration.

Abstract: Provided is an accommodating container that is mounted in a housing, accommodates an accommodated object therein, and is provided in such a manner that the accommodating container is capable to be pulled out of the housing, the accommodating container including an operation reception portion that is provided with a starting point in a portion thereof which a user touches when pulling the accommodating container out of the housing, and plural ridge portions which extend in different directions from the starting point.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first photosensitive member, having a first outer diameter, a toner image being formed on the first photosensitive member, and a second photosensitive member, having a second outer diameter, a toner image being formed on the second photosensitive member, the second outer diameter being greater than the first outer diameter. A second transfer roller in relation to the second photosensitive member is disposed on a downstream side of a first transfer roller in relation to the first photosensitive member in a conveyance direction of an intermediate transfer belt. A pressing force of the second transfer roller applied to the second photosensitive member is set to be greater than a pressing force of the first transfer roller applied to the first photosensitive member.

Abstract: A transport mechanism includes: a container that stores a specific developer; a transport body that transports the developer in an axial direction of a shaft about which the transport body rotates in the container while stirring the developer; a bearing that supports the transport body such that the transport body is rotatable about the shaft; and a restricting portion that has a substantially annular shape and a maximum magnetic force of about 20 mT or greater and about 50 mT or smaller and restricts the transportation of the developer past the restricting portion by surrounding the shaft, the restricting portion being provided nearer to a side on which the transport body transports the developer than the bearing in the axial direction of the shaft.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductive member to move in a rotational direction, a charging unit to charge the photoconductive member, a discharging unit to discharge a portion of the photoconductive member to form a latent image thereon, and a plurality of ink applicator units to sequentially apply a plurality of ink layers, respectively, toward the latent image to form an ink image. The image forming apparatus may also include an image transfer blanket to receive the ink image including the plurality of ink layers from the photoconductive member.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing rotary body to come into contact with a toner image on a recording medium and a pressing rotary body separably pressed against the fixing rotary body to press the recording medium against the fixing rotary body. A cooler, disposed opposite the pressing rotary body to cool the pressing rotary body, includes a fan to move air to the pressing rotary body and at least one inlet duct interposed between the fan and the pressing rotary body to supply air from the fan to the pressing rotary body. The at least one inlet duct selectively cools the pressing rotary body in a variable axial span in an axial direction thereof.